THERE’LL be no more twirls, tosses or throws on the Locomotive Hotel dancefloor.
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In fact, the last dance and final drinks for the Loco have been called, which means dance teacher Graham Dwyer and his quick-stepping heels will need to find some new boards.
Mr Dwyer hosted rock’n’roll dance lessons at the Belmore Street bar every Thursday night for 12 years.
“I’ve had a lot of fun here,” Mr Dwyer said.
“It has always had a bit of reputation of being a bit of a rough pub but, mate, they’ve been great.”
He’s only missed three nights across his 12 year run and that was when he had a heart attack and quadruple bypass.
The Loco is shutting up shop on Friday, but Mr Dwyer won’t miss a beat since he found a new home at the Oxley Bowling Club.
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He said it was “damn shame” to lose the Loco dance floor, but the show goes on for the rock’n’roller who said you’d only catch him doing three things: sleeping, dancing or plumbing.
“I can still dance and still rock’n’roll and plan on doing that for as long as I can,” he said.
He has held his own on dance floors for more than 40 years after a dressage coach told him to get dance lessons to help with his poise, rhythm and timing.
While the tunes have changed dramatically, he’s seen an equally drastic change in the pub culture around the region in his life time.
Every village would throw regular balls, while the leagues club in Tamworth could consistently pull 200 people every Friday, with three generations usually going out and interacting together.
“Nowadays, the kids wouldn’t be caught dead with their parents,” he said.
“That’s when clubs wanted to start making money and they started to make dance floors smaller.
“They just wanted bums on seats and people to play the poker machines and drink and catch a courtesy bus home.
“The social part of dancing changed and I think it’s damn shame.”
While it’s the end of an era for Graham and the Loco, some things stay the same like what dancing gives back to its participants.
“I do this for sheer pleasure, it’s great exercise,” he said. “When we go to the gym or do exercise, those great endorphins come out and you feel good about yourself, that’s what I like about dancing.”